Tax Tips & Calculators

Most states require you to pay personal income tax. Each state has different tax laws. If you live in one state and work in another, you may have to file a state return in both states. Select your state from the drop–down menu or the map below to find out more information about your state's tax laws.

The following states do not have an income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. New Hampshire taxes only interest and dividend income, and income from an unincorporated business, rental or farm activity. Tennessee taxes interest and dividend income only.

Select your state from the drop–down menu or the map below to find out more information about your state's tax laws.

Select a State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

If you make estimated income tax payments, mailing the fourth-quarter installment by Dec. 31 earns you the deduction in the current year — even if part of the payment is returned to you via a state tax refund the following spring. However, the payment has to be based on a reasonable estimate of your actual state tax bill. You can't inflate your fourth-quarter payment to increase the write-off on your federal return.

You may have similar flexibility with state and local property tax bills. In some areas of the country, these bills are mailed out in the fall, but they don't have to be paid until January of the following year. Beating the deadline by paying before year-end lets you claim the tax savings a year earlier.

If you are subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), prepaying taxes may result in no tax advantage. If you are subject to the AMT, contact a tax professional to help you determine the best time to pay your taxes.

Sales and Excise Tax on a New Motor Vehicle

You can deduct the state and local sales and excise tax on a new motor vehicle purchased after Feb. 16, 2009, and before Jan. 1, 2010. If you are not itemizing deductions, add this amount to your standard deduction. If you are itemizing deductions and are claiming the deduction for state and local income tax, enter the deduction on Schedule A, line 7. If your adjusted gross income (AGI) is $135,000 or more ($260,000 or more if you are Married Filing Jointly), you can't claim the deduction. If the purchase price of the motor vehicle is more than $49,500, you can deduct only the tax attributable to the first $49,500 of the purchase price.

Itemized Deductions

If you itemize, you have the option of claiming your state and local sales tax or state and local income tax for the year. Be sure to determine which amount will be larger, because you can't claim both.

If you choose to deduct income tax, include your withholding and estimated tax payments for the current year as well as any balance due from a prior year. If you credited an overpayment from last year's return to this year's estimated tax payment, be sure to include that amount too.

If you choose to deduct sales tax, you can deduct either the actual amount you paid or the amount from the table in the Schedule A instructions. Note: If you elect to deduct sales tax instead of state income tax, you cannot claim the new motor vehicle sales and excise tax deduction (see above). Instead, you can add the sales tax you paid on the car (as well as other items specified in the instructions) to the amount in the table.

If you're subject to the AMT and have a state tax refund, you may benefit from claiming the sales tax deduction even if that deduction is lower than the deduction for state income tax. The reason is that the state income tax refund isn't taxable if you claim the sales tax deduction. Be sure to prepare your return both ways.

Use the IRS Sales Tax Deduction Calculator to see if your sales tax deduction is more beneficial.